Bio

Laurence Osborn (b. 1989) read Music at Hertford College, Oxford, studying Composition with Martyn Harry and Martin Suckling, and graduating with a 1st in 2011. He then studied for an MMus in Composition with Kenneth Hesketh at the Royal College of Music, London, supported by an RVW Trust Scholarship and graduating with Distinction in 2013. Laurence then went on to study for an MA in Opera Making and Writing with Julian Philips at The Guildhall School of Music, generously supported by The Leverhulme Arts Scholarship. He graduated with Distinction in 2015, and held the position of Artist Fellow in Composition for the following year. Laurence currently studies privately with Julian Anderson. In September 2018, he will begin studying for a PhD at Kings College London, supervised by Sir George Benjamin, and supported by the AHRC London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP) Research Studentship.

Laurence won the Royal Philharmonic Society Composition Prize in 2017. He was also runner up in the New Cobbett Prize for Composition (2014) and the International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition (2013) and shortlisted for the ICSM World Music Days (2018). Laurence has won student prizes for composition while studying at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, including the Adrian Cruft Prize for Composition and the Royal College of Music Concerto Competition.

Laurence Osborn's music has been commissioned and/or programmed by the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahogany Opera Group, CHROMA, The Composers Ensemble, The Berkeley Ensemble, Consortium5, The English National Ballet, The Hebrides Ensemble, Juice Vocal Ensemble, Nonclassical, Outcry Ensemble, The Riot Ensemble, and Tête-à-Tête Opera Company, along with performers Sarah Dacey, Lore Lixenberg, and Michael Petrov. His music has been programmed throughout the UK, at venues such as Queen Elizabeth Hall (Southbank Centre), The Royal Opera House, LSO St Luke's, St Martin- In-The-Fields, Milton Court, Wilton's Music Hall, Riverside Studios, Britten Studio (Aldeburgh), The National Portrait Gallery, The Holywell Music Room (Oxford), Kettle’s Yard (Cambridge), and at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (where he was an International Showcase Artist), St Magnus International Festival, and at Ulverston International Music Festival. Pieces have also been programmed abroad, in Denmark, France, Hungary, and Switzerland. Laurence's music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and Resonance FM. Laurence also composes for theatre, having written music for productions at the Southwark Playhouse, RADA Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, and for the National Youth Theatre’s Epic Stages course. He is a regular collaborator with Flipping the Bird Theatre. As a writer, Laurence’s articles have been published in Tempo and the Institute of Composing Journal.

Projects for 2018/19 include a commission for Music In The Round from The Royal Philharmonic Society, and a commission from the New London Chamber Choir.